T H E H A M B U R G E R A N A LO GY

WRITING A JUICY PARAGRAPH

TOO PLAIN… NOT VERY APPEALING

Good writing includes several important elementsjust like a good burger is more than just a bun and meat!

WHAT MAKES A BURGER DELICIOUS?

THESIS STATEMENT

Let’s assume I am writing a research paper with the following thesis statement:

Americans who regularly consume fast food are damaging their health as well as the environment.

WRITING A PARAGRAPHTHE TOP BUN: TOPIC SENTENCE

Example of a topic sentence:

Fast food is a ubiquitous part of American’s everyday life, yet few people think about where this food comes from or how it is made.

Topic sentence gets at what the paragraph is about. It relates back to the thesis statement, which is what you are trying to prove in your research paper.

EXPLANATION SENTENCE (S)

This is where you explain who, what, when, where:

For example, soft drinks contain large amounts of refined sugar. Thanks to marketing from the fast food industry, Americans now drink twice as much soda as they did thirty years ago. Today the typical American drinks about fifty-two gallons of soda a year.

TEXTUAL EVIDENCE: YOUR PROOF

Evidence:”In 1978 the typical teenage boy in the United States drank about seven ounces of soda every day; today the typical teenage boy drinks more than three times that amount, getting almost 13% of his daily calories from soft drinks (Schlosser and Wilson 142-43).”

Use sources to provide your evidence. This can be statistical information, or other facts which you include in the paragraph. Here you may direct quote, paraphrase or summarize, but be sure to parenthetically cite the sources you use.

ANALYSIS OF EVIDENCE

*Increased calories from soft drinks are a contributing factor leading to obesity among American youth. Large amounts of sugar have been shown to have a negative effect on the body’s glucose levels and can lead to such conditions as early onset diabetes. In addition, drinking too much soda as a child causes calcium loss and the greater likelihood of broken bones from the effects of phosphoric acid in the soda.

• *Explains the meaning of the quotation in the previous slide.

LINKING SENTENCE

How the main point proves your thesis:

Clearly, taking in so much sugar through soft drinks has a negative effect on our health. We next turn to the meat used in fast food restaurants to learn how the manufacturing process puts us all at increased risk of disease.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Fast food is a ubiquitous part of American’s everyday life, yet few people think about where this food comes from or how it is made. For example, soft drinks contain large amounts of refined sugar. Thanks to marketing from the fast food industry, Americans now drink twice as much soda as they did thirty years ago. Today the typical American drinks about fifty-two gallons of soda a year. ”In 1978 the typical teenage boy in the United States drank about seven ounces of soda every day; today the typical teenage boy drinks more than three times that amount, getting almost 13% of his daily calories from soft drinks (Schlosser and Wilson 142-43).” Increased calories from soft drinks are a contributing factor leading to obesity among American youth. Large amounts of sugar have been shown to have a negative effect on the body’s glucose levels and can lead to such conditions as early onset diabetes. In addition, drinking too much soda as a child causes calcium loss and the greater likelihood of broken bones from the effects of phosphoric acid in the soda. Clearly, taking in so much sugar through soft drinks has a negative effect on our health. We next turn to the meat used in fast food restaurants to learn how the manufacturing process puts us all at increased risk of disease.

Nancy McEnery, Librarian-InstructorNapa Valley College